Mary Ellen Sparked Child Protection

The first child-protection agency in the world was the New York Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, organized in 1874 and incorporated in 1875. It grew out of the case of an abused girl named Mary Ellen McCormack, whose plight church worker Etta Wheeler brought to ASPCA founder Henry Bergh. Bergh and ASPCA lawyer Elbridge Gerry helped remove Mary Ellen from her guardian and secure a criminal conviction, then joined philanthropist John D. Wright in establishing the new society.

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